South Carolina-bound J’Zavien Currence builds his own legacy in Rock Hill
J’Zavien Currence once dominated at receiver as an 8-year-old going against older football players.
While athletic youth players that age are usually just handing the ball off or performing jet sweeps, Currence figured out how to run routes and haul in deep passes.
Currence, a four-star safety committed to the University of South Carolina entering his senior year at South Pointe, continued to play up during his early football years. He’s competitive in various other sports while training on the gridiron with his father throughout the year, and since those games in elementary school, he’s wanted to be on the football field.
“I scored like 30 touchdowns in one season,” Currence said. “That’s when I, really, was like, ‘Yeah, it’s on.’”
‘J’Zavien is all about uplifting people around him’
Currence had multiple Division I offers when he was in eighth grade.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound defensive back’s work ethic is impressive. As much as Currence loves the game, he understands the work that goes into it. He goes through every workout, practice, drill — and even tests in the classroom — with the same competitiveness.
If Currence isn’t at football practice, playing basketball or running track, chances are he’s training with his dad or helping out with Rock Hill’s youth programs.
“There’s no greater feeling,” Jay Currence, the Stallions’ wide receivers coach, said about his son. “You get that taste of success, you just want to keep driving on and expose it to other players around who have the same goal, the same dream. J’Zavien is all about uplifting people around him, and that’s a wonderful thing about him that we enjoy — he has real good intentions at heart.”
Currence leads South Pointe by example
Jay Currence, a former Northwestern wide receiver, has taught J’Zavien a wealth of football knowledge.
The father of the Gamecock-bound safety joined South Pointe’s coaching staff following its inaugural varsity season in 2006. Bringing tradition and history to what will become his son’s alma mater has been special.
While his dad once wore a Trojans’ uniform, J’Zavien Currence relishes playing for the Stallions and feels there isn’t really bad blood among any of the Rock Hill programs. The three high schools in “Football City, USA,” have fierce rivalries, but Currence ultimately wants the best for each of them — as their success elevates the city’s community.
“It’s by example,” South Pointe head coach Bobby Collins said of the younger Currence. “He’s not a big rah-rah guy. He’s not the guy who’s trying to run up to the front of the team and give a massive pregame speech. His biggest attribute is saying, ‘Hey, let me get on the field and show you guys, with my pads, what I can do and what I can do well.’ And everybody follows from there.”
‘A full circle moment’
Currence didn’t necessarily envision becoming a Gamecock, but the Palmetto State’s flagship school feels like home.
Jadeveon Clowney and Stephon Gilmore are among the South Pointe graduates whose pictures and names are displayed inside South Carolina’s indoor facility. Head coach Shane Beamer recruits the Rock Hill area well, and Currence loves his future staff already.
Currence — who gives thanks to his grandmas, parents, siblings and cousins for making him who he is — has always been around football. He grew up watching Florida games on Saturdays and following the Patriots and Ravens in the NFL.
The most enticing part of watching high-level football for Currence? Understanding how these players at the top of their game are providing for their own families.
“It’s a full circle moment,” Currence said. “To be honest, I’d never really seen myself going to South Carolina as a kid. Never really thought about it, always thought I was going to be a Gator. But growing up and getting recruited by the head coach and coaches there, the people, it’s just a big heartbeat. Everybody has the same motive.
“There’s no bad blood; There are no ill intentions. Everybody acts the same every time you go there. It’s a place that makes you fall in love with it, and they did it for me.”
This story was originally published April 28, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "South Carolina-bound J’Zavien Currence builds his own legacy in Rock Hill."
